Growth of a Kunoichi
by nic0l77
Summary: These girls laughed, cried, killed, and loved. They were flawed, made mistakes, and in the end, proved that it takes strength to be a kunoichi. [Kunoichi-centric oneshots]
1. Talking Back

**Disclaimer: I am not Masashi Kishimoto.  
**

 _Talking Back_

Summary: The first time Hinata talked back to her father, her mother died. Clearly, it was not a good day for her.

Hinata felt anxiety coil in her stomach the moment she woke up, ruthlessly reminding her of the day's obstacle: her first day at the Academy. Before… Hinata had always looked forward to entering the academy; meeting people outside of the Hyuga clan was as sweet and rare as being allowed to have dessert after dinner. But things were different and as Hinata got ready for her first day, she realized how little she wanted to leave the clan compounds. She couldn't, not today. So instead of meeting with the branch member escort at the entrance of the compound like she had been instructed to the previous night, she made her way towards her mother's room.

Ever since Hinata's mother had fallen incurably ill, the Hyuga compound had remained hushed and solemn. Hinata had noticed the atmosphere the day her mother lost the ability to speak. Everyone was quiet, holding their breaths for the inevitable funeral. People looked down sadly whenever Hinata walked into a room, and treated her delicately, as if she were a thing of glass. It was the change in the way people treated her that forced her to realize the truth: she was losing her mother.

The tension in the house had risen so sharply in the past few weeks even baby Hanabi had felt it; these days she was still and silent most of the time, which was very much unlike her. Hinata had taken to spending almost every moment she could with her mother. Nobody stopped her. Even her father had stopped enforcing her strict training schedule in the past week. So, Hinata was not surprised when no one interfered as she made her way towards her mother's room. She could not possibly go to the Academy at a time like this; the others understood.

Just as Hinata placed a hand on her mother's door, it opened and her father stepped out, looming over her.

"What are you still doing here?" Hiashi said. Hinata could not stop herself from stepping away from him and staring at the ground.

"I'm visiting Mother," she said, her fingers pressing together with a nervous energy.

"You will be late for your first day at the Academy, and I do not want you tarnishing the Hyuga name with your tardiness. Besides," his voice faltered for a moment, "your mother is being attended by a medic at the moment."

He was going to make her leave, Hinata realized. And she would not be able to see her mother again until well into the afternoon. Her gaze lifted from the ground and she frowned at her father's unreadable eyes.

"N-no," she said. She forced her hands apart and to her sides. Her father's expressionless face slipped, and he crossed his arms.

"Excuse me," he said, "what did you just say to me?"

"I don't _want_ to go to the Academy today. I _want_ to stay here!" Hinata said in a shrill voice, sounding more like the young girl she was than she ever had before. Hiashi's cool expression was gone. His hand raised swifty, but instead of hitting her, the slap of his palm hitting the wall behind her resounded loudly.

His words were incoherent and his breath turned forceful: "You dare talk back- at a time like this- your mother deserves quiet in the house, why I'll-"

Hinata barely had time to register her fear when the door opened again and a medic nin stepped out.

"Hyuga-sama, I...I regret to inform you that your wife has passed," said the medic.

Most of Hinata's brain ceased to function at that moment. She stopped seeing those around her: her father, the medic nin, and soon after others who walked around her like water breaking around a rock. She didn't hear the sounds of comfort and pity, or the sharp noise of a door being slammed soon after Hiashi walked away. She just stood, replaying the words in her head. _Passed, as in, passed away, as in dead. Passed, passed, passed. Mother, passed away._

The young girl stumbled back and collided with the wall, falling to the floor. When her mother was rolled out of her room, surrounded by medical equipment and medical jutsu scrolls, the world exploded in sound and color. Hinata stared at the outline of her mother's body, covered in a white sheet, with horrible fascination as it passed, memorizing its shape and the sound the bed's wheels made on the wooden floor. She, like everyone else, watched in silence.

Someone brought Hinata her little sister, perhaps thinking the girls could comfort each other; only they could understand what the other was feeling at that moment. Only when Hanabi pressed her small hands against Hinata's cheek did Hinata realize she was crying. Hanabi seemed deeply unsettled by the wetness on her finger and began wailing.

"Shh, you need to be quiet," Hinata said in a small voice, "don't raise your voice- or- or talk or-"

She was unable to continue speaking. A little while later, someone came to bring Hanabi and Hinata back to their respective rooms. Hinata tried to head outside, to get to the Academy, but was insistently led to her room. Hinata wanted to protest (she was going to ruin the Hyuga name!) but felt too afraid to do so. Instead, she meekly allowed herself to be brought to her room, not saying a word when asked if she wanted anything, and gave up on making it to the Academy for her first day.

A/N: So I love Naruto, but I have a lot of problems with the way women and girls are written. Here is my attempt to add some depth and complexities to these characters who have so much potential. I will not be straying very far from canon, I'm really just trying to fill in the gaps. This will be chronological-ish. I'm focusing on the girls' childhood years for now.


	2. Mothers I

**Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns everything. Except TenTen's mother. She's my own invention.**

 _Mothers I_

Summary: TenTen struggles with guilt, and her mother attempts to explain the difficulties of being a kunoichi.

Yori felt her daughter Tenten watch her from the kitchen table, surveying the older woman's every movement as she flitted around the kitchen, preparing dinner. TenTen's eyes narrowed as Yori picked up a knife and began cutting vegetables with both speed and precision. Every couple of moments, Yori would catch TenTen's eyes and smile.

"Is everything okay, darling?" Yori asked.

"I don't know," TenTen said. Yori turned her back to TenTen for a short moment as she got something out of the cupboard, then turned around with furrowed eyebrows.

"Is it something at the Academy?"

TenTen shook her head. "The Academy is good. Great. I was allowed do some target practice with shuriken today, and I hit every bullseye in range! Iruka-sensei said he was impressed."

The sound of the pan sizzling enveloped the room as Yori began to cook the vegetables. Then, "You used to be a kunoichi." Yori nodded slowly, warily.

"Uncle Kenji said you are an amazing kunoichi. I mean, were," she said.

"You make that sound like a bad thing," Yori replied.

"I heard you used to be a chunin."

Yori stopped and turned towards her daughter, crossing her arms, "I was close to becoming a jonin actually. A genjutsu specialist."

TenTen made a face. Yori knew her daughter was not a genjutsu type and hated being reminded of the fact, seeing as people seemed to like to remind many of the girls around her that they were genjutsu types. It was obvious just didn't feel a special connection with genjutsu because she liked things that made a very physical impact. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she found weapon training so much more simple than genjutsu, and just as efficient at weakening an enemy. Hit the target: success. Genjutsu required complex illusions and a certain skill in deceit TenTen lacked. Still, being a genjutsu specialist is no easy feat.

"That just makes it worse," TenTen said, her words icy. Yori took off her apron and sat down at the table.

"Is this about you not being a genjutsu type? You know people just like to assume girls are a genjutsu type and half of the time it isn't true. You aren't an odd one out," she said softly. TenTen glared at her mother.

"Uncle said you retired from being a ninja when you became pregnant with me," TenTen said in a small voice.

Yori hesitated. "That is true."

TenTen looked down at her clasped hands. "I'm sorry, Mama! I stopped you from becoming an all powerful kunoichi. I promise I didn't mean to!"

Yori sighed and put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. TenTen's large brown eyes were downcast and sad, an expression that did not belong in her young eyes.

"Darling, it's not your fault," Yori said, moving her arms to lightly grip TenTen's fisted hands and rubbing circles on the childlike, soft skin. Callouses had yet to form on the young girl's hands, but Yori knew that one day they would. Unable to catch her daughter's eyes, she put a finger to the girl's chin and lifted her head.

"It was my choice, and-"

"I don't understand!" TenTen said, her eyes finally lifting to meet her mother's, "why did you have to retire?"

"TenTen! When I was growing up, I was alone because my parents were shinobi and out on missions all the time. When I became pregnant with you, I realized I didn't want my child to grow up with an absent mother. I made my choice, and now I live with it."

"You weren't forced into retiring because of me?"

"What? No, of course not!" Yori said. TenTen flinched away from her mother's harsh tone.

"I just… I don't see many mama kunoichi." Unasked questions hung in the air. TenTen's young mind didn't understand the oppressive subtleties of gender roles, and Yori was loath to explain them in detail, to ruin the wonderful world lucky children lived and played in. Yori could empathize with TenTen's conflicting emotions stemming from being a girl in a male dominated field, and the belief that she had taken away her mother's chances at greatness and the guilt that ensued.

"I need you to listen to me," Yori's words were serious but softly spoken, "being a kunoichi means you have to sacrifice quite a bit: a stable relationship with people you care about; the safety of your own life; the certainty that you can be there for someone when they need you. I am happy with my life. I found another job I love, and can spend time with my family and friends. Being a kunoichi is no longer the right role for me."

Sadness melted from TenTen's eyes as she smiled at her mother.

"You still want to be an awesome kunoichi?" Yori asked, happy that her daughter no longer seemed upset.

"Not just an awesome kunoichi! The greatest shinobi that ever lived!" TenTen said with a passion.

"Right," Yori grinned, though aware TenTen had not absorbed the implications of being a shinobi. Her guilt was eased, however, and that was a start. Yori raised her hand for a high five, and TenTen slapped her hand energetically.

"And remember, when it comes to the battlefield, whether you're a girl or boy or anything else, everyone is human at the end of the day."

The young girl just grinned, perhaps not understanding everything Yori said but feeling lighter and freer because of her words.

A/N: Next up: _Ino's First Wedding_. Stick around! Constructive criticism is more than welcome. There's going to be more than one oneshot about mother and daughter relationships, so get excited.


	3. Ino's First Wedding

**Disclaimer: Kishimoto. Not me.**

 _Ino's First Wedding_

Summary: "I'm going to find my husband at the Ninja Academy!" Ino declared.

The blonde girl ran her round fingers down her cousin's kimono, blue eyes wide, in awe of the silky material, the beautiful patterns. Her cousin sat in front of a mirror, and some of her friends were artfully doing her hair.

"How do I look, Ino?" the bride asked, catching the young girl's eyes in the mirror.

"Beautiful!" Ino said loudly.

The door opened quietly and Ino's mother walked in, fawning over the bride.

"I remember my wedding day," she said wistfully, "it was the best day of my life."

Ino stared at her wonderful, beautiful mother's shining face. "The _best_ day?" Ino gasped.

One of the bride's friends added, "A girl's wedding will always be the best day of her life."

The bride nodded to herself in the mirror. "I can believe it," she said, "I've never been happier."

Ino's small hands curled into fists, and she screwed up her eyes as they welled with pre-tantrum tears. "I wanna get married!"

The women in the room laughed, smiling down at the child. Ino's mother began stroking through the girl's short blond hair.

"You will get married one day," her mother cooed, "you are so pretty."

"And you're entering the Ninja Academy in a few months," the bride's friend said mischievously, "the best men are always shinobi." The other friends quickly jumped in.

"Oh, their muscles."

"The _stamina_." This was said with a wink.

"The chivalry!"

"Their mystery, their strength."

"You know all about the wonders of shinobi husbands, don't you," the bride teased Ino's mother. The women erupted into a fit of giggles.

Ino, who had previously been looking forward to joining the academy to meet friends, especially outside of the Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Nara clans, now saw the academy in a whole different light.

"I'm going to find my husband at the Ninja Academy!" she declared.

The wedding the followed was a happy affair. Ino watched her mother holding her father's hand, the two looking content and relaxed. She noticed the bride's friends flirting with the groom's- smiling sweetly, engaging them in conversation, leaning forward and listening attentively. Her father was in such a good mood he let her have a sip of his sake, which she promptly spit out in disgust. Ino's mother berated him afterwards, but was in too much of a good mood to make a fuss.

Ino decided that weddings were her favorite events. Even better than her birthdays, which said a lot. It was a celebration of love, something the Yamanaka's celebrated with enthusiasm. Ino wanted to be as happy as her mother and her cousin, and set herself the mission of finding herself a husband who could bring her that happiness.

A/N: I was going to try to spread out the things I have written and not post them all at once, but I have _zero_ impulse control. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I think that these girl's have really been shaped by the environment they grow up in. Next up: _Classroom Musings_ which does not follow one particular girl, but provides glimpses of them all in the beginning of their academy days through the eyes of Iruka, the sweetheart. Please review!


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